The Dome
The Dome is a massive, invisible field that encapsulates Chester's Mill. Some residents of the town have speculated that it is sentient. Characteristics of the Dome The Dome is an invisible field that surrounds the town called Chester's Mill. It appeared without warning, causing massive damage to whatever occupied the space it would take, including severing the arm of a woman who had been reaching across the arrival area, the legs of an person picnicking, cutting livestock in half and cleaving apart at least one home. The Dome's sudden penetration of the ground extending deep below Chester's Mill initiated a brief earthquake. The Dome severely interferes with radio communication and cuts off passage between Chester's Mill and the outside world; this means that Chester's Mill is cut off from outside electrical power, radio wave communication is so scrambled as to be effectively lost as are telephone, televsion, and internet cables, and goods that would normally enter it from the outside world are unavailable resulting in a resource crisis and shortages within. Radio transmissions have been descrambled and received, however, though the work of Dorothy "Dodee" Weaver. This capability was lost when Dorothy was murdered by Big Jim, who covered up the crime by destroying the transmission tower and its equipment in a fire. Electrical objects in the immediate vicinity (typically within several inches) of the Dome behave erratically and if not moved can be damaged and in the case of battery operated devices, explode. This resulted in Duke Perkins' pacemaker exploding in his chest, James Rennie's flashlight exploding, and Lester Coggins' hearing aid malfunctioning and causing a fatal wound in his head. The Dome is estimated to be 10 miles in diameter and of unknown height. At the geographic center at ground level a mini-Dome appeared, presumably at the same time as the larger dome. It was later revealed that the mini-Dome and the egg it contained were above a buried meteorite originally containing the egg that had impacted the spot 25 years earlier in 1988. It is proven to be semipermeable, as some water was able to pass through it when touched by Joe McAlister. The Dome appears to be almost completely soundproof, though a large explosion from a MOAB on the outside did register a sound audible inside. Though not particularly loud, the sound was nevertheless audible throughout the Dome. The Dome usually appears completely invisible in daylight, though it may have some slight refractive and reflective properties when viewed at a distance or at night. The Dome feel smooth to the touch, like a glass or plastic surface, once described as "smooth as a baby's bottom". Despite not being made of conventional matter, the Dome is either rough enough on a microscopic level or though simulated van der Waals forces allows matter to cling to it as they would to a normal solid. Only materials leaving a visible mark such as blood, paint, dirt and ash indicate its presence and give the illusion of floating suspended. Initial physical contact with the Dome can result in a slightly painful shock and accompanying low frequency hum with a whitish glow, but the effect diminishes upon subsequent contact and objects in continuous contact with the Dome produce no visible or auditory effects. The Dome is, for all practical purposes, completely indestructible. Vehicles crashing into the Dome (A box truck and small aircraft) were instantly destroyed, bullets bounce off, and most dramatically, a MOAB with an explosive yield of 11 tons of TNT equivalent produced no effect other than a slight noise. The extent of how deep underground it runs is unknown, but it was discovered by James "Junior" Rennie and Julia Shumway to extend deep into the underground tunnels of the cement factory. In the middle of the Dome there is another, much smaller dome that houses a small black egg. Joe McAlister speculates that it could be the energy source of the dome. Also it could be the reason why the Dome appeared in Chester's Mill. The Dome can create apparitions of people. In episode Imperfect Circles the Dome using an apparition of Harriet's husband Greg makes her to touch the Dome for unknown reasons. In the same episode the smaller Dome that house the egg creates an apparition of Norrie's mother Alice and this way somewhat warns her that her mother is dying and she needs to see her. In Speak of the Devil the Dome creates an apparition of "Big Jim" and suggests that it wants that "Big Jim" would be killed. For unknown reasons the Dome made a connection with Joe McAlister and Norrie Calvert-Hill. They started to experience seizures and by both touching the Dome can somehow affect it. This is shown when after both Joe and Norrie touch the Dome the radio signal comes back in The Endless Thirst. They also able to communicate with it. Later on both James "Junior" Rennie and Angie McAlister joins Joe and Norrie as people who were somehow connected to the Dome. In Season 1 final Curtains Alice apparition tells that the Dome exist so as to protect Chester's Mill from yet unknown disaster. In Season 2 premiere episode Heads Will Roll the Dome shows the ability to magnetize itself. Created magnetic field is powerful to an extent that it will attract as heavy objects as cars or Chester's Mill church bell. Magnetic pulses also cause people to faint and if not threaten it can cause death. The Dome can manipulate weather inside of it at will. This is shown on few occasions: first time is in The Endless Thirst when the Dome creates rain to stop the riot, second time is on Speak of the Devil where the Dome creates giant storm because Julie was dying from being shot, third time is on Season 2 episode Force Majeure where the Dome creates acid rain. "Will" There has been speculation that the Dome does certain things deliberately. Joe McAlister speculated that the seizures experienced by he and Norrie Calvert-Hill were something the Dome "wants" to be kept secret, after unintentionally communicating so to the camera during an attempt to record their seizures. Julia Shumway later expressed her belief that the Dome was attempting to protect or placate the town, by protecting it from the military's missile, and later providing rain during the mass panic that water was in short supply. In Imperfect Circles the dome creates apparition of Alice Calvert somewhat warning that Norrie needs to go find her mom. As it turns out she dies and without the intervention of the dome Norrie wouldn't have talked for the last time with her mom. In Speak of the Devil after Junior declaring that he doesn't want to be part of mini-dome secret, the Dome becomes somewhat angry and creates a giant storm. After Junior changes his mind the Dome makes the storm to disappear. In the Season 2 premiere episode, Heads Will Roll, the Dome becomes enraged over Big Jim's actions to become the ruler of Chester's Mill by killing anyone who doesn't obey him. It punishes Jim by nearly destroying Chester's Mill and his residence, only to be stopped by Julia who saves Big Jim's life and preserves it. The Dome then stops the destruction and becomes invisible again. Trivia *In the novel the Dome was up for only a week while in the TV series the Dome has been active for over two weeks. References Category:Mysteries